3 Recognising need

Some children may not have a diagnosis and may ‘get by’ most of the time. How we respond to these children makes a huge difference to the way they see themselves. It can also make a great deal of difference to how successful they will be at school.

Behaviour

The child may show some of these in any combination:

Won’t sit still

Invades other’s space

Very emotional

Won’t follow routine or become distressed if routine alters

Upset by stories

Doesn’t listen

Shouts

Poor social skills

Low self-esteem

Poor sense of danger

Over-reacts

Immature behaviours

Social or behavioural theories

The child feels insecure and so produces these behaviours.

The child has failed to learn the appropriate behaviours.

Motor perceptual understanding

Consider these theories:

The child gets insufficient or unreliable feedback from physical actions or sensations. He has difficulty understanding what’s expected of him in different situations.

How you can react

How you react can affect the outcome for the child and rest of the class.

Don’t take it personally.

Use consistent rewards.

Use praise and rewards.

Set achievable targets.

Investigate further.

Physical

The child may show some of these in any combination:

Clumsiness or messiness

Runs but can’t stand still

Fidgets

Avoids physical games

Poor dressing skills

Comes into physical contact with others regularly

May not feel pain or may over-react to pain

Fatigue

Poor posture

Awkward pen grip

Changes hands in tasks

Poor at PE

Doesn’t have the correct equipment

Easily led

Needs more space

Loud

Pushes in

Social or behavioural theories

Tiredness – stays up too late

Lazy

Difficult

Motor perceptual understanding

Consider these theories:

The child has to use a great deal of thought and energy just staying upright or coping with the crowd.

He is unable to control fine movements.

Staying still requires more tiny muscle adjustments than moving quickly.

How you can react

Don’t draw attention to the difficulty.

Don’t insist the child completes tasks at home as well as homework.

Have realistic expectations of performance and pace.

Provide an alternative form of recording.

Ensure seating is appropriate.

Praise effort not outcome.

Language and comprehension

The child may show some of these in any combination:

Poor listening

Does not follow instructions

Takes everything literally

Can’t take teasing

Becomes hysterical

Blurts out information

Poor understanding of time and space

Poor memory and retrieval

Problems with spelling or word order

Problems with word finding

Poor copying skills

Poor at dictation

Can’t tell a joke

Immature speech

Can’t follow the timetable

Panics

Gets on in some lessons but is rude or difficult in others

Has difficulty predicting the consequences of actions

Acts out distress rather than talks about it

May seem OK in school but have terrible tantrums at home

Social behavioural theories

Is not made to listen at home

Immature or ‘spoilt’

Difficult

attention-seeking

Motor perceptual understanding

Consider these theories:

Can hear, but does not always discriminate sounds appropriately

Is unable to understand abstract concepts such as time, distance and space